Period 3.2

1774-1783

The American Revolution

• The First Continental Congress (1774)– Called in response to the British Coercive Acts• 12 of the 13 colonies had delegates present

– What did they decide?1. Continuance of the Coercive Acts would be met with

military action.2. All colonies would boycott British goods3. An attack on one colony would be viewed as an attack

on them all.

• April, 1775– The British got word that Samuel Adams and John

Hancock, the two leaders of the Boston rebellion, were hiding in a small town north of Boston (Concord).• Redcoats were sent to Concord with two orders:

1. Arrest the rebel leaders2. Confiscate the rebel’s weapons cache

– Paul Revere rode ahead of the British and warned the colonial militia to prepare.

The First Shots of the War

• The opening shots of the war occurred in Lexington, but the first major skirmish of the Revolution happened in Concord.– The colonists ambushed the British and handed

them an embarrassing defeat.

• The Battle of Bunker Hill – The first major battle of the American Revolution• The colonists were forced to retreat when they ran low

on gun powder, but they proved that they could fight with the British Redcoats– Over 1,000 Redcoats were killed by the rebels

Politics at the Beginning of the Civil War

• The Second Continental Congress (1775)– The delegates were divided on how to proceed

• Most of the New England delegates supported full independence, most from the middle and southern colonies wanted to resolve the differenced peacefully.

– They did agree to appoint a commander to raise a continental Army for inter-colonial defense (remember the Albany Plan?)• George Washington, a wealthy Virginia planter, was chosen

for two reasons:1. He was from Virginia, the most populous state2. He had military experience in the French and Indian War

• The Second Continental Congress also drafted a letter to King George III called the Olive Branch Petition, which was a final plea to the King for restored relations.– Citing the Battle of Bunker Hill, King George III

dismissed the letter and declared the colonies in full rebellion.

• 1776 - A pamphlet called Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine, a British immigrant to America, became the best selling publication in the colonies.– It advocated for a complete break from England– It also called for a new national government called “The United

States of America” based on the ideas of republicanism.

• Why was it important?– It began to unite colonists against British

• Until Common Sense was published, the Independence movement was only really supported by the colonies elites

The Declaration of Independence

• June, 1776 - the Second Continental Congress decided to create a resolution declaring complete Independence from Britain.– Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams

were put on a committee to write the Declaration.• The influence of the enlightenment on the colonial

leaders is evident in the wording of the Declaration of Independence.

• What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?– The Second Continental Congress wanted to give a

clear explanation to rest of the world of why they felt that complete independence from Britain was their only option.

• It was signed on July 4th, 1776– For the Declaration to have any meaning, the rebels

had to beat the British.

Diplomat to France

• In 1776, Benjamin Franklin went to Paris as a diplomat for the newly formed United States of America– His goal was to convince the French government

to join the war on the side of the Americans.

Demographics of the Revolution

The First Civil War

Patriots• Fought for independence• Most were from New

England and Virginia• Most were in colonial

militias and poorly equipped

Loyalists (aka Tories)• Professed loyalty to, and

fought for the King• More numerous in the

Southern colonies• Made up about 30% of the

population• Supplied with food and

arms by the British

African Americans and Indians

• African Americans– Initially George Washington rejected the idea of blacks

serving in the Continental Army• The British offered freedom for any slave that fought for the side

of the British, so George Washington was forced to make the same offer.– About 5,000 African Americans (mostly freemen from the North) served

for the Continental Army

• American Indians– Most served the British as land guides because the British

promised to limit colonial westward expansion

The Battles of the War

The Continental Army got off to a slow start against the British:

• Washington’s Army was forced to evacuate Boston early in 1776, and he set up his army headquarters in New York City

• Philadelphia, the largest city in the colonies, was also occupied by the British Army.

The Battle of Long Island (1776)

• September, 1776 – the British launched a major attack against New York– George Washington’s army was forced to evacuate

across the Delaware River.• The British chose not to pursue Washington’s army, but

if they had, Washington would have been defeated and the war would have been lost for the rebels.

The Turning Point Battle

• The Battle of Saratoga (1777) was the turning point of the war.– Through the use of guerilla tactics, the Patriot armies in New York

were able to force the surrender of British General John Burgoyne

• Why was Saratoga the turning point of the American Revolution?– Benjamin Franklin had been in Paris trying to convince the French

government to join the side of the United States, but the French were waiting for a decisive American victory before pledging support.• After the American victory at Saratoga, the French pledged military

support to the Americans.

Foreign Aid

• After the Battle of Saratoga the French provided:– Money, weapons, troops, but most importantly, a

Navy

• Important military leaders also came from Europe to train the Continental Army– Baron Von Steuben (Prussia) and Marquis De

Lafayette provided valuable training to Washington’s Continental Army

Valley Forge

• During the winter of 1777-1778, Washington set up his winter camp at Valley Forge, PA– The French aid had not arrived yet, and the

Continental Army faced a brutal winter• Many men had no shoes and insufficient clothing to

survive the winter

– Washington’s Army lost over 2,000 men to death or desertion at Valley Forge.

The Battle of Yorktown

• In 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis camped his army at Yorktown, on a small peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay.– Cornwallis was waiting on British supply ships to

arrive, not knowing that the French fleet had created naval blockade of the Chesapeake Bay.• With the French blockade in place, Washington’s

Continental Army cut off the British escape route by land.– Washington’s army captured the British fort at Yorktown, and

turned the guns on General Cornwallis’ army.

The Surrender of the British

• General Cornwallis was forced to surrender the war to the Americans at Yorktown.

• The Peace of Paris 1783– John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay were sent to

Paris to negotiate the terms of treaty with the British:• The British had to formally recognize the independence of the

United States• The British had to relinquish claims of any land east of the

Mississippi River• The Americans had to pay, in full, all pre-war debt owed to Britain

• Why did the Americans win the war?– They had a greater familiarity of the land– American had stronger political leaders than

Britain– Many British people turned against the war

because it was viewed as an unnecessary and expensive imperial struggle

– An ideological commitment– Military support from European allies

• The Results of the American Revolution– The United States was fully independent– Many of the Loyalists had their land confiscated

and fled to exile in British Canada– Currency inflation and national debt became the

biggest challenge for the new country.